A problem with (& solution for) swales

Swales are great for catching and infiltrating large rain events, particularly if they come during a dry period. However, they can also cause problems during wetter periods by waterlogging soils and causing them to turn anaerobic.

This article explains a cheap and simple solution which lets you to control the water level in the swale and get the best of both worlds - infiltrating valuable summer rains whilst avoiding winter waterlogging. Click here to read more

KEYLINE SWALE - a Lawton-Doherty hybrid

Geoff Lawton and Darren Doherty are the two highest profile people in Australian Permaculture when it comes to broadacre water harvesting earthworks. They've both had success in some very tough environments, and yet it's interesting that their styles are quite different, particularly when it comes to infiltration strategies.

This article is a short comparison of their styles, along with an idea I had a couple of days ago of how to amalgamate the benefits of each of their approaches. Click here to read the article

There's also an interesting look at the way water moves through the landscape

Dr Christine jones on the benefits of soil carbon

Here are a couple of links to some of the work of Dr Christine Jones, an Australian who is one of the world's top authorities on soil carbon sequestration, and someone I find really inspirational.

On her website, www.amazingcarbon.com she has a number of papers you can download which explain the vast benefits of increasing soil carbon levels including climate change adaption, drought proofing, environmental rehabilitation and protection, improved human health, reduced costs for farmers back pocket and more.

I found the GASS submission she put to the government, which involves setting up 50 demonstrations of pasture cropping (this is explained in the document, it's about creating year round soil cover which facilitates increased carbon levels) across Australia's vast wheat belt to be really inspiring and educational.

This is a link to an interview she did on the ABC earlier this year.

Urban drought proofing in disguise

I've been privileged to work with some of the best large scale water harvesting and earthwork designers in the country, including Geoff Lawton, Darren Doherty and Rick Coleman; guys who have effectively drought proofed some of the most hostile environments on the planet.

Since I am living in the city at the moment (while my wife Jessie finishes her midwifery degree), I have been working on ways of bringing these ideas into urban situations. The only problem is that most people don't want their garden to look like a motorcross track (which is what many of the large scale strategies tend to resemble), so there's a need to do some disguising.

To see photos, design sketches and an explanation of my latest creation, with drought proofing strategies disguised as a creek bed, pond and pathways nestled amongst a young food forest, click here

Home orchard soil improvement

Click here to see photos and a practical explanation of the five star treatment I've recently given to the soil in the orchard.

Home orchard soil improvement

Installing drip line in the vegie garden

On the weekend, my son Yarrow and I began installing some new dripline on the terraced vegie beds here at Kim's house where we're living. To see how we went about it, click here

Using natives in Permaculture Design

In many of the general Permaculture texts, the promotion of the use of Australian natives in Permaculture design has been quite minimal, so a couple of years ago I decided to write an article on the Permaforest Trust website which you can read if you click here.

'The eskimos are coming'

In 2007 I had the privilege of spending some time in the Blue Mountains building rock walls, chatting and reading through 15 years of project reports with Permaculture elder Rosemary Morrow. Here's some of what she shared about working with other cultures in development.

Design of a replicable food forest pattern

To compliment the article 'I believe in Food Forests, (linked to in the post below), I wrote another article named 'Design of a replicable food forest pattern'. 

The biggest reason that I identified for the low yield in some of the early food forest examples was the owner's lack of understanding of how they should be managed through time. As a contribution to solving this problem I came up with the idea of this replicable pattern which is illustrated and  explained if you click here. (The picture to the right is one in a series of the design of the food forest through time)

'I believe in food forests'

I wrote an article for the Permaforest Trust website a few years ago named 'I believe in food forests'. 

In some people's opinion, food forests are a thing of fantasy, suggesting that  modest on-ground harvest results in some of the early examples was reason enough to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I had a different opinion which you can read about if you click here. 

A year or so later, it was very satisfying to read Dave Jacke's books Edible Forest Gardens V 1 & 2, which echoed many of the thoughts I included in this article (and he expanded them a thousand-fold!)

Urban stormwater harvesting

Click here to read an article of mine that was published on the Permaculture Research Institute website on how to construct a French drain. These are a fantastic way of harvesting stormwater and utilising tank overflow in an urban situation.

Greywater mulch pits

Click here to read an article of mine that was published on the Permaculture Research Institute website on how to construct Greywater mulch pits. These are a very cheap and easy way to utilise greywater on the garden, without harming your soil.

When is a swale not a swale?

Swales are fantastic for catching and holding water that runs across the land, giving it time to infiltrate into the soil, our largest water store. If it's been dry for a while - that's fantastic news! The problem is,  some landscapes are at risk of waterlogging - that's bad news.

To read an article I wrote on the Permaforest Trust website a while ago about a very simple system for controlling the amount of water your swale infiltrates, click here